Print

CHRONOLOGY CHRONOLOGY OF GREEK HISTORY FROM THE TROJAN WAR TO THE SUBJUGATION OF CORINTH, 1200–146 BCE Ca. 1200–1190 The epic battle between the Greeks and the Trojans—the Trojan War— chronicled later by Homer in the Iliad. 776 Founding of the ancient Olympic Games, the quadrennial athletic fes- tival that took place at Olympia, in the southwestern corner of the Peloponnesus. 734 The first Greek colony in Sicily, Naxos, is founded. 621 The Athenian lawgiver Draco is put in charge of codifying and publish- ing the laws of Athens. He recommends the death penalty for virtually any offense, even the most minor. 594 The Athenian legislator, poet, politician, and businessman Solon (ca. 640– 560) single-handedly enacts many legal, economic, and social reforms in Athens. He modifies the harsh penalties prescribed by Draco’s law codes. Ca. 560–510 Pisistratus, and later his sons, Hippias and Hipparchus, rule Athens as tyrants. Ca. 510 The shadowy Athenian leader Cleisthenes sponsors a number of initia- tives that lay the foundation for the flowering of the Athenian democ- racy in the fifth century. 490 The Persians, led by King Darius I, invade Greece. The Greeks, princi- pally under the leadership of the Athenians, prevail at the decisive Battle of Marathon. 480 The Persians return to Greece, this time under King Xerxes. The Athenian navy, led by Themistocles, defeats the Persians for the second time in 10 years. Ca. 478 The representatives of several hundred Greek polises assemble on the tiny Cycladic island of Delos to form an anti-Persian alliance generally known as the Delian League. xxi